{"id":3389,"date":"2026-06-18T15:04:56","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T15:04:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=3389"},"modified":"2026-06-18T15:04:56","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T15:04:56","slug":"nc-transportation-board-concerned-over-threat-of-repaying-millions-for-stalled-i-77-south-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=3389","title":{"rendered":"NC transportation board concerned over threat of repaying millions for stalled I-77 South project"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WJZY) \u2014 The I-77 South toll lane project remains stalled, despite efforts by Monroe leaders to reverse the vote that stopped it.<\/p>\n

Read more Tropical storm remnants pound Gulf states with heavy rain after tornadoes hit the Midwest<\/a><\/p>\n

Monroe\u2019s change in support comes after a draft amendment started circulating, calling for Charlotte and other cities to pay back the $60 million already spent on the design.<\/p>\n

Several local leaders questioned the legality of that draft legislation by Senator Vickie Sawyer at Wednesday night\u2019s Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization meeting.<\/p>\n

Several members of that group criticized Charlotte and Mecklenburg County\u2019s representatives for pushing people to pull their support of the toll lanes so quickly, without knowledge of the consequences.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we\u2019re going to make decisions on this board with a gun to our head, we don\u2019t need to have this board,\u201d said Matthews Mayor John Higdon.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s how some Mecklenburg County officials are referring to Senator Sawyer\u2019s draft legislation, which calls for municipalities that rescinded their support for the I-77 South toll lane project to pay for funds already spent on planning. State transportation leaders have spent $64 million since 2018.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt sets very dangerous precedent, what has been attempted here,\u201d said Mecklenburg County Commissioner Leigh Altman. \u201cThis legislation proposes to retroactively punish lawful conduct.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Drought worsens again across NC as exceptional conditions spread in Triangle<\/a><\/p>\n

The proposed measure is what prompted Monroe to go back on its original vote to revoke support for the controversial toll lanes. The city\u2019s representative tried to add a meeting agenda item Wednesday evening to reconsider the May 20 vote.<\/p>\n

\u201cA little bit of time has passed and certainly there\u2019s a tremendous about of information that\u2019s being disseminated, most of it true,\u201d said Monroe Councilman James Kerr. \u201cThought it might be a good chance for the board collective to weigh in on the decisions that have been made.\u201d<\/p>\n

That motion failed, but several board members expressed their frustrations with what they believed was a hasty vote last month.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy concern and my problem plainly is this board chose poor leadership last month by basically rushing to vote on something without all the data, without all the details, and without fully understanding the ramifications of those decisions,\u201d said Cornelius Commissioner Robert Carney.<\/p>\n

Now the CRTPO is up against the clock because the North Carolina Transportation Board will meet next month to discuss withdrawing the project funding, with a vote expected in August. Local leaders are hoping to find a way to delay that vote, so they don\u2019t lose the funding.<\/p>\n

Read more Residents return to war-ravaged southern Lebanon with hope and sorrow after the US-Iran deal<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Monroe leaders are trying to reverse their vote to stop the I-77 South toll lane project, but a draft amendment from Senator Vickie Sawyer has caused controversy as it would require Charlotte and other cities to pay back the $60 million already spent on design.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3388,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nNC transportation board concerned over threat of repaying millions for stalled I-77 South project - Raleigh Moving News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=3389\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NC transportation board concerned over threat of repaying millions for stalled I-77 South project - 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